BT hosts Sustainability Festival at Adastral Park, Ipswich

BT Business chief executive Bas Burger, global sustainability head Sarwar Khan and Adastral Park and research boss Lisa Perkins were among the speakers at its Sustainability Festival - which brought together around 1,000 people.

The Adastral research park at Martlesham, near Ipswich, hosted the gathering of industry experts to hear speeches, visit stands and watch hi-tech demonstrations on Wednesday, September 13.

The focus was on driving sustainability and net-zero emissions through a range of activities and tie-ins - including a major announcement by BT on its collaboration with smart buildings company Johnson Controls.

International and national brands included Samsung, Dell and Halfords - and local organisations such as University of Suffolk, Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Sizewell C - were among the guests.

Mr Khan - who spent a decade in the energy sector developing sustainability solutions to help customers decarbonise - said the event was designed to bring together BT's partners, academia - and its customers.

BT wanted to work with small businesses and large ones on the issue, he added.

"We have committed to be net zero for our operations by 2031 and for our wider supply chain - for our customers - by 2041," he explained.

Part of this has been around BT's own equipment and devices - including making sure they are managed when they reach the end of their life cycle, he said.

The company was also seeking to save creating 60m tonnes of carbon through a new scheme with smart buildings technology company Johnson Controls.

The collaboration - announced at the festival - will help businesses to reach net zero at a faster rate by combining Johnson Controls' tech with secure connectivity - enabling users to analyse and optimise energy use.

Many at the festival were inspired by Mr Burger's speech on moving from talk to action on the issue of sustainability, said Mr Khan.

"It has been received very positively. There's a really good sense of energy here as well," he said.

Buildings around the world from offices to factories could all benefit the smart buildings initiative and cut their carbon while reducing their costs, he said.

“Our collaboration with Johnson Controls will help BT deliver on its pledge to help customers avoid 60 million tonnes of CO2 by the end of March 2030," he said.

"Customers will benefit from better visibility and management of energy data from connected buildings, helping them reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and reach Net Zero faster.

"According to the World Green Building Council, buildings are responsible for almost 40% of greenhouse gas emissions and the International Energy Agency (IEA) finds they consume at least 30% of energy globally.

"Smart and sustainable buildings are on the rise as they represent a key opportunity in helping to meet climate targets.

"At the same time, the number of subsystems, IoT devices and data is increasing exponentially, driving demand for secure and reliable networks.

"Connectivity to the cloud is now needed in areas within buildings that may have been poorly served by legacy networking solutions.

BT will connect Johnson Controls’ OpenBlue digital platform using secure networks to enable the building management system to operate.

Katie McGinty, vice president and chief sustainability and external relations officer at Johnson Controls, welcomed the partnership.

“With the powerful combination of technology and partnerships, coupled with government incentives, there has never been a more opportune time to drive sustainability leadership and action," she said.

"The collaboration between Johnson Controls and BT will unlock new potential for customers to further reduce emissions, cut costs and energize employees with their sustainability mission.”

BT and Johnson Controls used their combined technologies ro run a live demonstration at BT’s research facilities in Adastral Park.